How “hollowed” hotels are destroying worker rights

REITs aren’t just for money laundering.

6 min readMar 1, 2022

A vintage postcard depicting a seaside Hilton hotel. The hotel is full of intestinal worms, and perched atop it is a ‘fat cat’ caricature of a rich guy with a money-bag for a head. In front of the hotel is a guillotine. Image: SuSanA Secretariat (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/gtzecosan/16424898321 CC BY 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The Real Estate Investment Trust is (REIT) a sixties-era tax shelter designed to allow mom-and-pop investors to buy into income properties. REITs are exempt from corporate tax, but they’re also prohibited from managing the buildings they own.

How “hollowed” hotels are destroying worker rights

REITs aren’t just for money laundering.

Written by Cory Doctorow